Travels in Eire #4

Cailin studied this stranger like she did Brendan. It was her nature to do this. In her business she needed to know her competition, and she did this by studying their facial expressions and intonations. It was different here in Ireland; facial expressions were often hidden, and with the Irish brogue, intonations were more difficult to pick up. But she studied this stranger anyway. His dark curly hair looked unkempt falling loosely over his forehead. His face was angular with strong cheekbones and those eyes....they could sparkle, or cloud over and turn cold in an instant. Beneath his unshaven face was a handsome man. When he did smile, his entire face lit up.

They talked all afternoon about the town, about Cailin's trip, and about her grandmother. In fact it wasn't until she was about to leave that she realized she had never introduced herself and neither had the stranger.
“I'm Cailin,” she said as she stood to leave.
“Nice to meet you Cailin,” he said with a wink, and added, “I'm Rorey.”
“I'm staying at Conor's Pub for a day or two, until I get all my travel plans in order.”
“I know,” he replied smiling.
Puzzled, she excused herself, thanked Rorey for the conversation, and left the cafe heading for the pub.

As Cailin walked back to the pub she thought about Rorey. She felt drawn to him but couldn't figure out why. Not in a romantic way, at least she didn't think so, even though he was a very handsome man. Over the years she had had her share of boyfriends and relationships, but none was “just right”. No man had stolen her heart nor she his. Rorey didn't talk about himself in their conversation. In fact, neither did Cailin. And how did Rorey know she would be staying a few extra days? Had he “read” her like she was trying to read him?

Arriving back at the pub, Cailin pulled her maps out of her rental car and headed to a corner snug to spread them out and make some decisions about where she was headed. Brendan brought over a cup of tea and helped her find Mullaghmore.
“Where you go from here, Cailin, is up to you.” he told her. “If you need me I'll be behind the bar, but ole Seamus or Mick have traveled all over and might be able to give you some ideas.”
She looked over to the bar and there sat the two fellows from the night before. Scruffy and hard working men from the looks of it, but smiling over to her, nonetheless. She returned the smile a little hesitantly, and Brendan noticed.
“They ain't nothin' to be concerned about, they's both married,” he finished with a grin.

Cailin looked at the map quizzically, then over to the two eager men at the bar. “Okay, gents, I really do need some help here.” And they scurried over to her snug to each submit their travel ideas.
Places like the Antrim Coast, Portrush, Lough Neah, Randalstown and Enniskillen were pouring out of the mouths. Cailin tried to find all these places on the map as they named them. But they were all over. And what did she need to see at these places. She needed a more organized plan.

And just as she was becoming overwhelmed with all of the suggestions from Mick and Seamus, she looked up to see Rorey sauntering into the pub. This time he was clean shaven and looked like a new man. Tall and handsome, striking in his walk. As he approached Cailin, Mick and Seamus resolutely returned to the bar as if knowing they were being replaced.

This time the steely blue-eyed stare and wink from Rorey was returned by a smiling one from Cailin. She felt so comfortable with him around. Rorey sat down in the snug next to Cailin, rather than across from her, and as their arms touched Cailin felt like electricity had touched her. There was an energy that was part of Rorey that she could feel with him this close. She scooted just aside so they were not so close. He didn't seem to notice, or at least he didn't indicate that he did.
Rorey asked Cailin where she wanted to go, and what she hoped to see. From then, they made a travel plan that would take Cailin across the middle of Northern Ireland to County Donegal, and across the north coast through Derry, Antrim and back to Mullaghmore. Rorey fashioned that it would be better to stop back at some place Cailin was familiar with before heading out again. And Cailin liked the idea because she felt comfortable here in Mullaghmore, for many reasons.